Pueblo Scouting mission

With so much local water and never enough time, it seems that I am never able to explore the southern region of the state. This weekend I finally made the effort to scout some water in the Pueblo region. Open water gets a bit scarce in Colorado as we roll into January. Southern regions like Pueblo offer open water virtually all year round.

First on my list was the nature center area below the reservoir itself. Water was very low and the action was nil. I didn’t see anyone getting fish but I did see numerous anglers. Much lower water flow than desired and much more competition than expected. I spent quite a bit of time plinking here and there with not so much as seeing a fish let alone getting a nibble. I think these would be much better fishing conditions with more water. Wrong place, wrong time.





Pueblo Reservoir is mouth wateringly fantastic and better than I ever had ever hoped from such big water. One look and I could tell that this good water for so many species. The real trick would be beating the pressure.





The area below the spillway was locked up with anglers and still dreadfully low. I was amazed to see the number of anglers piled up on the best sections. Everything from serious fly guys to bait dunkers.



There are some ponds in this area that looked like they are worth trying when warm weather comes back to the state. Smaller ponds with heavy vegetation are some of my favorite. These particular ponds seemed to have plenty of that but also showed signs of baiting pressure and trash. Empty worm containers and whiskey bottles on the shoreline are the signs of pillage and destruction. Our waters should not suffer from this any longer.




All in all it was a good trip and just getting acquainted with new areas was an adventure in itself. Special thanks to Wyngate at Windon Hotel and their staff for accommodating the team while we explored this region. Wyngate is one of the better choices of accommodations for the price in this area. Their ratings and comments on expedia and priceline.com prove that.

Wingate by Wyndham - Pueblo
4711 North Elizabeth
Eagleridge and Elizabeth
Pueblo, CO 81008 US
Phone: 719-586-9000

Matt’s note: If you live in this area and willing to share some local info, I would appreciate it greatly. Anything from fishing tips to great places to eat in this are would be helpful. If you like this blog or the website, please shoot me an e-mail or add a comment on the page. Good luck and good fishing.

Back to Fishing

I decided to take a moment away from fishing and various fishing venues to focus on a temporary contract. This contract was fairly lucrative and in the interest of national security. These two things are hard to pass up…even when it comes to fishing. It hasn’t been all work and no play so here is a quick recap of what ol Mattsabasser has been up to these few months (roughly September 2008 thru January 2009)

The job was pretty taxing. Flying back and forth from Denver to California sounds like more fun than it really was. Tight deadlines made this a very stressful gig especially at the start when I knew very little about the project itself. All I have to show for those trips are this photo of a surf board hanging up in the terminal at John Wayne Airport.

I also took time to get reacquainted with one of my other outdoor loves…hiking (and just plain hanging out in the wild and open Colorado wilderness). Mount Evans, RMNP and even nearby Roxborough Park were excellent retreats done in areas without any fishing whatsoever. It was very hard to do but the time had come to let fishing take a backseat. The nervous twitch in my casting elbow had turned into involuntary swings at my former boss and the night terrors of lost fish were making sleep impossible. It was time to step away from the fishing. It was possibly the toughest thing for me to do but it was much needed. Here are some picture highlights.



It's amazing some of the places that you can find in your backyard. This non-fishing place has been on my dusty scout list of hiking places close by.

http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/roxborough



Mount Evans is a spectacular place with breathtaking views. At the very peak a person can literally feel like they are on “top of the world”.

http://www.mountevans.com/

Rocky Mountain National Park is a real slice of paradise. So much of this area is unexplored by me since I left Loveland Colorado and moved closer to Denver a few years back. On a whim, I took a quick drive through RMNP. It's an excellent trip and not near the travel time time that I had thought. I hope to fish more of this area in 2009.







But the main point of this post is that now things have settled down with the job, fishing may now return with some ernest. Conditions right now don't favor my bass game so tailwater sections and hard water will have to do.